Automatic article dispenser



Jan. 26, 1965 w. 1-. HAAG 3,167,369

AUTOMATIC ARTICLE DISPENSER 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed 001;. 21, 1963 mum-w...

INVENTOR. MZZMM if A6446 ATTQQA/EYS Jan. 26, 1965 w. T. HAAG 3,167,369

AUTOMATIC ARTICLE DISPENSER Filed Oct. 21, 1963 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 BY mww Anna/5Y5 Jan. 26, 1965 w. T. HAAG 3,167,369

AUTOMATIC ARTICLE DISPENSER Filed Oct. 21, 1963 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 1 ZZZ D OT 58465 INVENTOR. W/ZZM/W 2' 194,46

United States Patent Office 3,167,369 Patented Jan. 26, 1965 3,167,369 AUTOMATIC ARTICLE DESPENSER William T. Haag, 734 Silvcrlalte Blvd, Los Angeles, Calif.

Filed Oct. 21, 1963, Ser. No. 317,684 6 Claims. (Cl. 312-71) This invention relates to an automatic article dispenser. While it may be adapted for use in connection with any types of articles in vertical stacks, it is particularly adapted for use in connection with stacks of dishes in restaurants.

In restaurant kitchens or any other areas w ere stacks of dishes must be kept, they frequently take up a considerable amount of room and occupy work spaces such as counter tops which otherwise could be put to different uses. Of course storage cabinets may be placed above or below the counter tops but it is then necessary either to reach upwardly or to lean over or stoop to take dishes from stored stacks.

The present invention contemplates means whereby a stack of dishes can be stored with most of the stack below a counter top and with only the upper portion of the stack extending through an aperture in the counter and the top dish approximately at the same level as the counter top, where it is readily accessible and where it can be readily removed from the remainder of the stack.

The invention also has as an object the provision of a holder for stacked articles, such as dishes, with power means for elevating the stack a distance equal to the height of one of the stacked articles each time the top article is removed from the stack without any work on the part of the user of the articles other than the removal of the top article, the upward progression being accomplished automatically.

A further object of the invention is to provide means for limiting the vertical movement of the stacked articlehandling mechanism so that it can be reset to receive a fresh stack of articles, or Will stop and remain inoperative -when all the articles have been removed from the stack the power mechanism for more convenient recharging of the magazine with a stack of articles such as dishes. Theabove and other objects will more fully appear from the following description in connection with the accompanying drawings:

FIG. 1 is front elevational view of an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a top plan view thereof;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged vertical sectional view taken approximately on the line 3-3 of FIG. 1, and with the centralportion broken away;

. FIG. 4 is a diagrammatic view of the electrical system. In FIGS. 1 and 2 there is illustrated a rear frame 6 having vertical side members 8 and 10, an upper cross member 12 and a lower cross member 14. Extending forwardly from the lower cross member 14 are lower side frame members 16 joined at their forward ends by a cross member 18. Extending upwardly from the forward lower cross member are upright frame members 20 whose upper ends are connected to upper side members 22 which extend rearwardly and are suitably connected as by welding to the rear upright members 8 and 10. A cross brace 24 is connected between lower portions of the rear upward members 8 and 10 a short distance above their lower ends.

Located within the frame is a vertical cylindrical magazine 26 whose wall is preferably made of sheet material and which has a relatively wide front opening 28 extending from the bottom to the top of the magazine. In the bottom of the magazine is a ring 30 which may be welded to the sheet metal wall, and immediately above the ring, are inverted L-shaped brackets 32 which are adapted to serve as supports for a disc shaped follower 34 when said follower is at the bottom of the magazine. The follower is free of any positive connection with the magazine so that it can be moved from. the supporting brackets 32 at the bottom of the magazine to a position in the upper end of the magazine by mechanism to be described.

Adjacent the upper end of the magazine 26 are laterally disposed brackets 36 whose inner ends are welded to the magazine, and whose outer ends are turned downwardly, as at 38, and said downwardly turned ends are provided with rollers 49, there being two rollers on each bracket, one disposed behind the other. i The rollers rest upon the upper side frame cross members 22 and thereby support the entire magazine unit within the frame. However, the magazine can readily be removed from the frame by moving it forwardly on the rollers 49 to facilitate charging of the magazine with stacked articles to be dispensed. These articles may be in-theform of dishes or plates 42, the stack being supported on the follower 34.

The follower 34 has on its underside an inverted channel 44 which rests upon an elevator arm 46 which extends outwardly through a vertical slot 48in the rear wall portion of the magazine 26, said slot extending from the bottom of the magazine adjacent the lower ring 34) to the lower edge of a split upper magazine ring 50, the split in said ring coinciding with the relatively wide front opening 28 in said magazine.

The elevator arm 46 is secured by bolts 52 to a sliding member 54 which has a vertical rectangular aperture 56 therethrough to receive a bar 58 which comprises a trackway for the member 54. To facilitate manufacture and mounting of member 54, it is split vertically and the two halves therefor connected by suitable bolts 60. To reduce friction between the block member 54 and the trackway 58, saidmember 54 is provided with a lower roller 62 which bears against the forward edge of the trackway bar 58, and an upper roller 64 which bears against the rear face of said trackway bar 58.

The rear portion of the member 54 carries a nut 66 which is threaded upon a threaded shaft 68, the threads of which are square, and said threaded shaft is disposed vertically and parallel to the trackway 58 and thevertical slot 48 in the rear of the magazine 26.

The trackway 58 has its lower end welded or otherwise the sensor 90, 94 and again the upper end of the trackway'is similarly secured to the.

upper rear frame cross member 12. t g

The upper end of the screw 68 is journalled in' a bracket 70 secured by bolts 72 to the upper cross frame member 12, and the lower end of said screw terminates in *a coupling 74 which is connected through a speed reduction device 76 to an electric motor 78. An electrically 'contrelled motor brake unit 80 is mounted on the opposite 'of the motor, as shown in FIG. 2.

Mounted on the rear frame ,cross member 24 adjacent the lower portion of the frame is alirnit switch 80Whose operating roller 82 is disposed in the path of movement will stop the'motor and apply the brake 80 when the block w member 54 on the trackway reaches its lower limit of a movement. Y i V V A limit switch 84is mounted on the upper'rear cross member 12,'and its operating roller 86. is disposed adjacent the upper end of ,the screw shaft 68 and also located above the upper rear portion of the openptopped magazine 26. Mounted upon the upper end of the trackway 58 is a pair of bracket plates 88 between which lie a sensor arm 90 which is pivotally'mounted upon a bolt- 92 extending betweenvthe bracket'plates 88. The outer end of the sensor arm 90 is provided with a downwardly extending knob 94. The outer end of said sensor arm 90 lies below the limit switch roller 86 (and the arm 90'is adapted to swing vertically between the uppermost article stacked in the magazine 26 and an upward point sufli ciently high to actuate the limit switch 84. The sensor arm 90 is biased downwardly under its own weight.

A third limit switch 96 is secured to the upper rear frame cross member 12 and is located below the second mentioned limit switch 84. When'the magazine is empty,

stop themotor and apply the brake.

The lower limit switch 80 operatesin the same manner as the switch 84. Normally its contact arm 106 is in engagement with motor circuit contact 108, but when the elevator is lowered by the screw 68 to the point where it engages the roller 82 .of said limit switch, the contact arm 106 will leave the motor circuit contact 108 and engage the brake circuit contact 110., I

When the magazine has no. articles in it the motorelevator will rise to the point where the trackway block member 54 will engage roller 112 on the limit switch 96 and its contact-arm 1174 will leave the motor circuit contact 116 and engage the b'rake'c ontac't 118. The manual toggle switch unit 98 is also shown in FIG. and its showing is thought to he self-explanatory.

From the foregoing it will be seen that I have provided a stacked article dispenser particularlyadaptable for use with stacked dishes in restaurants wherein the apparatus can be mounted in or next to a counter or work table and the uppermost dish of the stack will be supported approximately at counter level, and wherein successive dishes in the stack will be automatically brought up to the same level when a vpreceding dish has been removed from the stack.

'It should be noted that the sensor .knob 94 is so located that it will engage the edge of the uppermost plate in the stack, so that if desired, articlesof food can be upward movement of the stack elevator comprising the arm 46 and block member 54,- can rise to the point where stack. 7 v a The. only manualicontrol which must be actuated in order for the device to operate is the toggle switch 98,

and then only to reverse the direction of operation of the apparatus vertically attimes when the magazine is a completely filled or completely empty.

It'will of course be understood that various changes can be made in the form, details, arrangement and proportions of the device, Without departing from the spirit On the right front framemember 20 is a manually operated toggle switch 98, which as shown in FIG. 4, energizes the motor circuit so that the follower elevator comprising the sliding member 54 and elevator arm .46 will move to its upper or lower limit depending upon 'whether the toggle switch is shifted upwardly or downwardly. I p t The magazine 26, as stated above, can be removed from the frame by pulling it forwardly on its rollers 40 to make it more convenient to charge-the magazine with a stack of articles, such as the dishes 42. The loaded The toggle switch 96 is then' shifted to an upward position of the invention.

'1 claim: 7 o p v 1. In an automatic article dispenser a vertically dis- Yposed magazine having an open upper end, an article follower in said magazine and movable vertically therein,

' a follower actuator including an elevator having a vertito actuate the motor 78 and-screw 68 for'elevation' oflthe sliding member 54 on trackway' 58 andithe elevator arm 1 46, thereby raising the follower 34 with itsstack of dishes 42. When theuppermost dish in the stack engages the sensor knob 94, the sensor arm will be swungup'wardly o engage and actuate the limit switch 84-shifting it from the motor circuit position shown in FIG. 4, with the contact arm engaging the contact 102 to a position Where i said contact arm engages the brake circuit contact 104 so that the inertial rotation of the motor will be promptly stopped. The uppermost dish 421,in-the.stack can then be removed. ,Thereupon, the sensorlarrn '90 will drop to engage the next uppermost plate." ln so doing, the contactarm100 of limit switch' 84will' drop down, leaving thetb rake' circuit contact 104 andreengaging motor circuit contact 102, so that the follower elevator'will again raise the stack of.plates,,sai ld'. next uppermost p'late will engage cally disposed trackway, a reversible velectric motor connected to said elevator to operate the same, a first limit switch adjacent'the lower end of said trackway in the path of movement oftsaid elevator and connected to said electric motor to stop the motor and elevator at the downward limit of movement of the elevator, a second limit switch supported at the upper portion ofsaid trackway and connected to said electric motor, a sensing member having a portionthereof disposed at the'upper part of said magazine in the path of movement of avertical stack of articles moving upwardly in said magazine, said sensing member be'ing movable bythe uppermost of said articles into engagement with said second limit switch, said second switchbeing connected to said electric motor to stop saidmotorand elevator when the switch is actuated, and a' manual switch in circuit with said electric m otor to energize and deenergize the same.

2. The structure in claim 1, and said sensing member being movable ver'tic'ally'fromits point of engagement'by the uppermost article'in a stack'to' its point of operating engagement with 'saidlimit switch, the movement of said sensing member beinga vertical distance approximately as great as the height of each article in the stack.

3. The structure in claim 2, :and said sensing member being movable downwardly under its own weight to its lower limit of movement.

4. The structure in claim 1, and a screw drivingly connected to said electric motor for rotation thereby and iwayandiincluding anut threaded' on said screw, said magazine having a vertical slot adjacent to and aligned with said trackway parallel thereto, and the follower actuator including an element extending from said member movable along the trackway and through said vertical magazine slot and engaging said follower.

5. The structure in claim 1, and a third limit switch supported at the upper portion of said trackway in the path of said member movable along the trackway, the third limit switch being located lower than said second limit switch and connected to the motor to stop the motor and elevator when there is no article in the magazine to engage said sensing member.

6. The structure in claim 1, and an electrically operated brake on said motor electrically connected to each of said switches and mechanically connected to said motor to stop the motor upon opening of the motor circuit by any one of said limit switches.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS CLAUDE A. LE ROY, Primary Examiner.

FRANK L. ABBOTT, Examiner. 

1. IN AN AUTOMATIC ARTICLE DISPENSER A VERTICALLY DISPOSED MAGAZINE HAVING AN OPEN UPPER END, AN ARTICLE FOLLOWER IN SAID MAGAZINE AND MOVABLE VERTICALLY THEREIN, A FOLLOWER ACTUATOR INCLUDING AN ELAVATOR HAVING A VERTICALLY DISPOSED TRACKWAY, A REVERSABLE ELECTRIC MOTOR CONNECTED TO SAID ELEVATOR TO OPERATE THE SAME, A FIRST LIMIT SWITCH ADJACENT THE LOWER END OF SAID TRACKWAY IN THE PATH OF MOVEMENT OF SAID ELEVATOR AND CONNECTED TO SAID ELECTRIC MOTOR TO STOP THE MOTOR AND ELEVATOR AT THE DOWNWARD LIMIT OF MOVEMENT OF THE ELEVATOR, A SECOND LIMIT SWITCH SUPPORTED AT THE UPPER PORTION OF SAID TRACKWAY AND CONNECTED TO SAID ELECTRIC MOTOR, A SENSING MEMBER HAVING A PORTION THEREOF DISPOSED AT THE UPPER PART OF SAID MAGAZINE IN THE PATH OF MOVEMENT OF A VERTICAL STACK OF ARTICLES MOVING UPWARDLY IN SAID MAGAZINE, SAID SENSING MEMBER BEING MOVABLE BY THE UPPERMOST OF SAID ARTICLES INTO ENGAGEMENT WITH SAID SECOND LIMIT SWITCH, SAID SECOND SWITCH BEING CONNECTED TO SAID ELECTRIC MOTOR TO STOP SAID MOTOR AND ELEVATOR WHEN THE SWITCH IS ACTUATED, AND A MANUAL SWITCH IS CIRCUIT WITH SAID ELECTRIC MOTOR TO ENERGIZE AND DEENERGIZE THE SAME. 